Academic Advising

cSTAC Academic Advising

All students should contact our faculty advisor Alisa Cunnington for more information and guidance about their academic planning. 

Humanities Academic Advisor: 
Alisa Cunnington  x5279
book an appointment on-line at www.brocku.ca/humanities/advising/index.php

Registration information & dates may be found here

The Globe and Mail recently published an interesting report about career-focused education in the Fine and Performing Arts.  It begins with the statement:

“In 2007, the Canadian arts and culture industries contributed $46 billion to the country’s GDP and employed over a million people.”  Following remarks about trends of lower levels of remuneration in the sector the article adds that “not all graduates of the fine and performing arts end up in cultural industries. Indeed, 40% work in sectors such as business and manufacturing.”

There is a useful listing of skill sets that employers of this sector seek of new graduates and job applicants.  Identified by the employers the Globe and Mail interviewed here is a sample of the qualifications that are sought-out the most:

- rather than grades, focus is placed upon on the candidate’s experience through school, community theatre or other professional arts organizations
- outside experience to enhance the training and experience that they receive at school is desired
- a strong sense of etiquette, discipline, and a positive attitude cannot be overestimated when working in a creative and collaborative business
- essential that the candidate is flexible, adaptable and have good organizational skills

The article includes brief interviews with university graduates working in the arts and culture sector. Rob Kraszewski, Coordinator, Board and Executive Relations, TIFF, remarks that it turns out his theatre degree ended up being far more practical than he had ever imagined.

You can read the entire report at the Globe and Mail website.

posted October 25, 2011 

The Daily Beast (an online source of curated news aggregation, original reporting and opinion) recently pubished their roundup of the Top Ten Hot Jobs. The introduction concludes with "While for some occupations the economic outlook is only likely to get grimmer, other jobs and industries are faring well enough, and are in fact expanding." They go on to list opportunities in the Arts and Culture sector for which studies at cSTAC will give you an excellent foundation: Producer and Director (especially in online video media), and Art Director.

The Daily Beast also ranks the coolest career paths that are actually hiring - from curator to private eye - and listed Curator, Entertainment and Sports Agent, and City Planner, in their gallery of Top Ten Dream Jobs

The Daily Beast concludes their article about dream jobs with this important caveat: "These jobs aren’t always easy to break into, they can take a lot of work to reach the upper echelons, and they encompass a swath of education levels and hurdles to entry. More important than anything, though, is that they’re jobs that will stoke passions while keeping bill collectors away from your door." These are jobs that are worth studying for. And you can do it at the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.
(as collected 01.02.10)